George Wilkins
Born: 1875
Occupation: Insurance Agent
Killed: July 30th, 1919
Cause of death: Bullet Wound
George Wilkins, a white man, was born in Kentucky in 1875. He lived in Louisville, Kentucky and worked as an insurance agent for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. However, a Chicago Tribune article listed his address as 5010 S. Calumet Avenue, perhaps signifying that Wilkins was staying and perhaps living for an extended period in Chicago. During the riots, on July 30th, Wilkins was making his rounds when confronted by several Black Chicagoans including Spurgeon Anthony, Willis Powell, and John Washington. After a brief argument outside of 3825 Rhodes Avenue, during which the youths were angry because Wilkins asked them for money, Wilkins was shot. The Chicago Commission Report stated, “the coroner’s jury recommended that the three be held to the grand jury on the charge of murder, and the grand jury indicted them.” On December 19th, the grand jury returned verdicts of “not guilty” to Anthony and Powell, but Washington was found guilty of murder and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Wilkins died on July 30th at the age of forty-four.
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